Bernhard Willhelm (31) is a designer from Ulm, Germany, who studied at the Royal Academy in Antwerp and now lives and works in Paris. Alongside his own men’s and women’s wear collections he also designs a prêt-à-porter line for the Italian couture house Capucci in Milan. He isn’t interested in thinking nationally - he makes his own rules in life, just as he does in this interview with kodex.
kodex: Just two years ago you belonged to what was known as the up-and-coming of the designer world. Your status has changed since then - you now belong to the established set. Is that something you feel - do you feel established? And was it easier being an up-and-coming young designer?
Bernhard Willhelm: Am I finished or am I just starting? That’s exactly what I ask myself every day. Am I already there? Or am I standing still? Asking the question is more important than knowing the answer. Am I established? What’s important is the keeping going, the next collection. There’s enough work to be done, and material to do it with.
kodex: Does the pressure increase with each season, from both outside and in?
Bernhard Willhelm: I’m very unresponsive to pressure. Sometimes I roar like a big bear, at others I lay there quietly like a genetically modified tomato.
kodex: How have things been working at your company?
Bernhard Willhelm: The secret is: conceptual with corporal pleasure - as a cure and to be happy. Every company grows with its work and its workers. It’s normal - we’re a group of young people (wonderful and mostly female), who like making fashion together. Fashion can only work in a team.
kodex: What has changed since you’ve been working in Paris?
Bernhard Willhelm: It’s funny, since I’ve been in Paris I’ve felt like a young Roman. There are new areas to discover, and experiments to carry out. I’m still in the observation stage at the moment and don’t want to jump too soon.
kodex: What’s it like keeping an eye on the new designers yourself now, and being able to give them support?
Bernhard Willhelm: You help others by discovering and nurturing and using your own talent. You give them what you do.
kodex: Can you give us some examples of values to pass on to young talent?
Bernhard Willhelm: Keep your eyes open! Follow Dalai Lama if you’re interested in values and ideas. My designs are an invitation to the imagination. There is no moral behind my work.
kodex: What does Antwerp mean to you?
Bernhard Willhelm: I have beautiful memories of Antwerp. Actually, though, I’m not someone who feels very attached to certain places. My home is everywhere and nowhere, and I travel a lot. I find it so great having my own bed, though! That’s my home. It’s made of oak with amazing down bed linen. It’s simply a dream.
kodex: What attracted you to Capucci?
Bernhard Willhelm: The idea of a free, unpolluted house. Isn’t that what everyone dreams of?
kodex: What does your work at Capucci stand for? Is it proof that a designer can also work outside his or her own fashion world - that the work can be abstracted?
Bernhard Willhlem: My work is never proof of anything. Each collection is the silent witness of a working process. Each collection raises questions which can and must have many different answers, even within the same team. There are no rules.
kodex: What’s it like designing for a house which already has its own design language and valued customer base?
Bernhard Willhelm: We developed our own language for this project. So we learnt to talk to one another. And creatively, the customers are, on the whole, extremely open. They can see immediately if a collection is strong and convincing.
kodex: How far has the work for Capucci influenced your own collection?
Bernhard Willhelm: My dreams and ideas are very abstract. I always dream of squares. What does that signify?
kodex: Is it still possible to live and work by your own rules?
Bernhard Willhelm: Nobody can do that. We all have our duties and deadlines, and believe me: these things keep the world moving.
kodex: How do you avoid overconfidence?
Bernhard Willhelm: I don’t know. Possessions don’t interest me, but spending money is fun. Finding a balance is the answer.
kodex: Part of your work is the courage to court controversy. Is it possible, when something has been pushed so far, to still make it amusing?
Bernhard Willhelm: It’s not about making it amusing, but about testing the limits. Collections often become strong and interesting through opposition to them.
kodex: What’s it like to be described as the most successful designer in Germany after Karl Lagerfeld?
Bernhard Willhelm: The question is, how do you go without success? Of course I’m sad that the ultimate success is Karl Lagerfeld’s. But I find it narrow-minded to compare people. Lagerfeld is the only designer Germans know. My generation have something totally different to say, and want to be heard on their own terms. That’s what I’m fighting for.
kodex: In Germany at the moment there are lots of new magazines and clothes shops. Do you see a new visual language developing?
Bernhard Willhelm: It’s all too computer-driven for me. I miss the handmade, imperfect feel of publications. A bit of sloppiness can often be very fresh, so long as the concept works. Shops? The world needs new shops. There are far too few, and every town needs at least two of this kind of store. A shop should set an example. I love shops!
kodex: Are you working on any special projects at the moment?
Bernhard Willhelm: We’re launching our first book (out in January in Berlin), which our graphic designers Carmen Freudenthal and Elle Verhagen worked on. In the last four years we’ve developed our own visual language together, which we wanted to document.
kodex: How would you describe your work ethic?
Bernhard Willhelm: My work is spontaneous and fast. Intuition is extremely important. That’s where surprises come from. A faux pas is essentially something positive. An unsuccessful idea excites me more than a perfect one. The purely aesthetic doesn’t interest me. Perfectionism is important when the clothes are being made. The mind is chaotic. Only chaos contains beauty. The things we truly love are much more important than perfectionism.
Good stuff
